IF I COULD SAVE TIME IN A BOTTLE...

               A YEAR THAT PASSED TOO QUICKLY

It's been a little over a year since I retired and moved to Ridgehaven.  I arrived here, I believe, on June 8th, and here it is shortly after that.  This past year has been a near-perfect gift to me, and in some ways I mourn that it passed so quickly. 

When I moved, I gave myself a year to unwind, to get into the rhythm of the seasons in a new setting, to get acquainted with my "self" again.  I WISH  I could say that I've done lots of the things I said I wanted to do:  read the Bible more (I have some but not enough), journal every day (same thing here), exercise every day (NOT...although I have done some hiking and walking), lose weight (I have had some success in this area, but again not enough).  So rather than condemn myself for all the things I haven't done, instead I choose to celebrate what I have learned in the past year:

 

1.  Naps are not necessary when I get eight or nine hours a sleep at night.  When I was working two jobs, my "night's" sleep was usually broken up into five hours at night and then another two or three in the afternoon or early evenings if I could manage a nap.  For a couple of years, naps were almost impossible, and I think I was sleep deprived for years and years.  It did take me a while to catch up, but I can officially state that I am no longer sleep deprived. (Now, don't get me wrong... a couple of beers and a couch in the afternoons still have appeal.)

 

2.  It is not normal to sweat twelve months of the year.  I think one of the things I have enjoyed the most is the fact that the climate up here is so different from that of Baton Rouge.  Yes, we have a few warm afternoons when the AC gets turned on, but those are usually only in July or August, and it is often cooling down by four or five PM.  "Muggy" here means 55% humidity instead of 99%.  The past winter was very mild here, and I am probably going to be surprised some day when it snows two feet, but often it was warm enough to work outside, or to walk with a coat on.  (That's another thing...I actually bought TWO winter coats, not just light jackets.)  I love to wear cotton, and in Baton Rouge I wore it all year long.  The word "wool" has actually passed my lips in the past twelve months.  To be clear...I still prefer sweat shirts and sweat pants to ANY other clothing in the winter and probably always will.  Spring and summer here...well, I won't make you want to throw things at me and tell you about how  cool they are.  And we definitely won't mention the fact that I am in hog heaven during the fall.  My goodness!! They are just perfect.

 

3.  Birds other than sparrows, blue jays and mockingbirds exist. One of my greatest pleasures this year has been watching "my" birds.  I still don't know much about some of them, but I  enjoyed the nesting pair of bluebirds more than I could imagine.  Our friend JoPaula gave us a bluebird box last summer, but it was too late for them to nest when she put it up, so I was pleasantly surprised to see a pair raise a little family of five babies.  I sometimes tend to read too much, and I began to stress about predators getting the eggs or babies before they could fledge. Somehow, they managed to do just fine on their own, but I secretly believe it's because they knew I was on guard with my binoculars, watching out for them every day.  I am sad that they only nested there for one brood, but there's always next spring. We buy sunflower seeds primarily, and the gold finches, purple finches, tufted titmouses (titmice?), black capped (or Carolina?) chickadees, and cardinals all seem to love it.  I was excited to see some birds I've never seen before when they migrated through--the red breasted grosbeak.  They have some big honking beaks on them, but they are very interesting.  I also saw a few of the blue buntings, but they didn't stay long.  We bought a very nice pole to hang multiple feeders from, and since it's right outside the den window, we enjoy a variety of bird visitations all day every day.  It's also interesting to note the sounds since the doors are almost always open.  I'm hoping to get reacquainted with my owl buddies soon.  I haven't heard them calling lately, but I know they're around. Squirrels are smarter than they look.  Some of my friends have asked for updates on the squirrels. Well...the new pole for the bird feeders has a squirrel baffle on it, which does indeed baffle most of them.  Instead of eating me out of house and home, MOSTLY they graze off the dropped seeds (and the extras I give them on purpose).  However, there are a couple of Kamikaze squirrels who leap off the roof and try to grab on to the decorative top of the pole.  Sometimes they succeed and proceed to feed, but they aren't eating nearly as much.  I think I might just have to end the ability of those guys to reproduce and pass the knowledge on to their offspring...just sayin'.

4.  Some views I never get tired of. I still love our front porch.  I can sit for hours (and sometimes do), watching the shifting clouds and the patterns on the mountains.  Another view I never tire of seeing is the long distance view of Waterrock Knob up on the Parkway.  (It's my cover photo on Facebook, but I'll share it here).  I have also come to enjoy the sheltered view of the mountains and woods from our little "sunset terrace" Carol carved out of the tree line.  We have to constantly fight back the encroaching underbrush, but it's worth it.

 

I am still (thank goodness) amazed at how beautiful this area is.  The other day, when the fire was burning in Black Forest, near my brother's house in Colorado Springs, I got teary-eyed thinking about how sad it is to see beautiful areas destroyed by fire.  I wondered what it would be like to look out on this forested landscape and see sticks and black and ugliness.  Whether sitting on the porch, driving into town, or driving on the Parkway, I try to remember to thank God every day for this gift of beauty, serenity, and contentment.

 

5.  I miss my family and friends but am happy to have made some new ones.  It seems to have hit me hard lately how much I miss my family.  My nephew Greg and his family in Baton Rouge were the closest family I had (in geographical proximity), and although I didn't see them that much, I knew they were close.  I am feeling sad about the girls growing up so quickly, and me not being there to see their concerts and attend their birthday parties as I've always been able to do. My brother Sam in Natchitoches was within driving distance too, and I miss him and his wife.  My other brothers are farther away, and I don't see them as often.  It was wonderful having Glenn and his daughter Katie visiting for a few days this month, but I need to get to Austin to see them again soon.  On the other hand, I'm closer to my niece Laurie and her family in Nashville, and I look forward to their visit to Ridgehaven this week.  My Baton Rouge friends I keep up with on Facebook, but it's not the same as being able to go out to dinner.  Some of them come to visit fairly regularly, but again...it's not the same.  I am very excited about my two "oldest" friends (since 7th grade) coming to visit in July!!  We HAVE met some very nice people and have made friends with our neighbors Mike and Sue. But for me, I guess they are the only new friends I've made.  I guess I need to get out more.

 

6.  I don't miss teaching like I thought I would.  I DO miss my colleagues, and I DO miss interacting with my students, but I don't miss the grind of having to "perform" all day every day, of having to grade papers ALL the time, of putting up with bureaucratic BS, of grading papers ALL the time (yeah, I know I said that already, but I repeated it for emphasis).  I DO miss having the identity of Miss Parker, Baton Rouge High English teacher.  But I also find that I'm comfortable reverting to the somewhat introverted, frequently shy person I really am.  I hope to begin substitute teaching in the fall, so getting back in the classroom will be interesting, to say the least.  There's no place like BRHS though, and I know that.  But it was time to leave.  I have no regrets.

 

7.  North Carolina doesn't know good Tex-Mex food from squat.  Suffice it to say that I am still on the quest to discover a really good Tex-Mex restaurant.  There are some who THINK they serve good Mexican food, but they are imposters.  I'd give $50 for some good chicken enchiladas at Superior Grill, not to mention the frozen margaritas!!  That in itself might warrant a trip to BR soon!

 

8.  I love my life.  I am still trying to grow as a person, and I sometimes disappoint myself and those around me, but I still am more content than I ever dreamed was possible.  God has been good to me, and I am grateful on a daily basis for His blessings.

Until next time...and the Further Adventures of Donna Parker.

 

 

 

 

April come she will...

Along with April, Spring has come to Ridgehaven.   She's been tantalizing us for several weeks now, only to suddenly withdraw her warmth and send us more cold weather.  I'm a novice to these mountains, and I may be fooled again, but it "feels" as if she's here to stay.  Don't get me wrong--I have thoroughly enjoyed the leisurely pace of winter, but if it's Spring on the calendar, it needs to be Spring in reality.



We kept hoping for a "big snow" but were disappointed that we didn't get it.  By "big" I mean the 12 or 15 inches that fell two years ago, when we had first bought the place.  This year, it snowed for the first time in October and snowed last week, maybe for the last time this season.  For me, snow is still enough of a novelty that I get excited when it sticks, although I must confess that cleaning off the windshield of my truck last week was not fun, especially since the temperature  was in the low 20s.  I had an early appointment and did not get to enjoy the fun on the toboggan that Carol and Sue (our sweet neighbor) shared in my absence.   And, like most of the pitiful little snowfalls we had this winter, it melted in the few short hours I was gone.

We can be ingenious though, as evidenced by the fact that we taught two of Sue's grandkids the joy of "grass sledding" just the other day.  It's surprising how a plastic toboggan and a spray can of furniture polish can be almost as good--especially for kids from Florida who don't know anything about snow anyway.

I know spring is here because of some of the following reasons:

 

1.  I am already taking joy in the sound of the song sparrow in our front yard. Even now, I can hear his sweet voice.  I think he's sitting in the same tree, on the same branch as he claimed last summer.  It will be time for the hummingbirds soon, so I need to get my feeders ready for the early arrivals.  For the past few months, I've enjoyed the constant company of the messy titmouse, who takes the sunflower seeds and cracks them all over th porch, and his friends the chickadee. and the dove.  New to me this year was the dark eyed junko, and I love the timid little towhee.  The cardinals have been a constant, of course, as have the sparrows.  It makes my heart glad to see the colors of the goldfinch changing from their muted winter plumage to the spring greenish yellow that will make them one of my favorites all summer.

 

 

2.  My ongoing battle to keep the squirrels out of my bird feeder is intensifying.  I even have Carol joining in--the Daisy Red Rider BB gun is getting a workout.  As of this morning, however, they seem to be winning.  I have chased at least four squirrels away today, or maybe it's the same four.  Maybe they're just circling the house and coming round again from a new direction.  More likely, I think the are bringing their cousins who are still in town for Easter.  And they're getting smart.  All they have to hear is the rolling of the BBs down the barrel and they hightail it up the tree and out of sight.  I HAVE been known to stalk them, shooting at them until they run back into the woods, but I fear that when one of them is distracting me, four or five others are running to the feeder.  I KNOW that even as I write this, they are finishing off the remainder of those seeds...sigh.

 

3.   Color is bursting out all over, from the forsythia and the trees to the flower beds.  Actually, we've had flowers blooming for several weeks in the form of the wonderful daffodils that are ubiquitous up here.  Their bloom cycle is nearing an end, but the tulips are coming up, the forsythia is blooming its bright yellow, the weeping cherry is asserting its pale pink blossoms, and the hyacinths are blooming.  Recently we discovered the serviceberry trees with their white blossoms which appear early in the spring and are a common sight in the woods.

Here are a few bright patches of color I found on the property yesterday, including some cute little weeds.

 

Many of these lovely daffodils were originally on the property from the previous owners, and others we ordered from catalogues.  Carol has sworn me to secrecy regarding the newest arrivals, but here's a hint...it involved a deserted country road, a shovel, and a lookout.  Enough said.

 4.  We're both eager to get to digging in the dirt.  Carol has already planted (or more accurately has continued to plant) seeds in the vegetable garden.  That's her baliwick.  I like the flower garden better, and we're very excited about a new landscaping project that's underway.  We've hired a professional  design guy to help us with what we are calling the meadow garden, which is a spot of about 150x30 feet we are hoping to make beautiful as well as to eliminate some of the  mowing I can't do on that steep slope.  The design plan is well under way, with a great deal of input from Carol, and we hope to have it in by May.  We have done some heavy duty spraying to--hopefully--arrest the steady encroachment of the grass, the horrible vines and the woody stemmed plants that have thrived there for years in what we called "the thicket", if that tells you anything about what it looked like before we cleaned it out.  We seem to keep adding more places that need more care, but since Carol is the gardener who does most of the work, I can't complain.  It should be quite lovely when it's finished, and if I can contribute by holding the water hose and occasionally spraying, then I'm more than happy to do it.  Carol spent countless hours during the past few winter months pouring over information before making the selections for the shrubs and flowers we both like.  For someone who claimed to be technologically challenged when I first met her, she and my iPad have become good friends.  Carol has also begun her "woodland garden" and we have established a seating area in the woods.  Someday this area will abound with ferns, shade loving shrubs, and hostas.  Strangely enough, I find that I like this "sunset terrace" area almost as much as I like the porch.  It's a slightly different view and more cozy among the trees.

 

Speaking of flowers, we are leaving in a couple of weeks to go to a part of the Great Smoky Mountain National Park that's over in Tennessee called Cosby Campground.  They are having a wildflower viewing event, and we hope to get there a few days before the crowds.  It's a part of the park I've not been to, so I'm excited to see it.  Supposedly, it's more isolated and less traveled than some of the campgrounds, which I like.  It's not tourist season yet, but the GSMNP gets a lot of visitors, so I hope we don't have crowds.  I like crowds even less now than ever, now that I'm accustomed to the peace and serenity of  Ridgehaven.  We hope we aren't too early for the flowers, but in this climate one never knows.  I need to get Dora (my Casita travel trailer) unwinterized and ready for the trip, but that should only take a few hours and the weather is getting perfect for that.   Another summer camping trip we have planned is to see the synchronous fireflies in June.  Is that cool or what???

 

It's hard to believe we've been here through three seasons already.  These past ten months have been simply wonderful.  As I tell anyone who asks (or even those who don't) I have been happier in these past months than I ever dreamed was possible.  Retirement has meant the freedom to relax, to live life at my own pace, to reacquaint myself with pleasures such as movies and books, and to simply live in such a glorious setting that it takes my breath away sometimes.  Right now I can hear the tinkling of several windchimes as well as  the songs of the birds, and I know the sun is shining on  this beautiful mountain morning.  This new life has truly been a gift, and I can't wait to see what the next few months bring.  I hope they bring more guests, more hikes, more birdwatching, and THE FURTHER ADVENTURES OF DONNA PARKER.

 

 

 

AIN'T IT FUNNY HOW TIME SLIPS AWAY?

Three years ago today, at approximately 8:30 AM, my sweet Gladys passed from this earth into the hands of the Lord.  It's hard to believe that so much time has elapsed, but I think of her almost every day.  Her legacy will remain for many more years to come, not only in my life but in the lives of all of us she influenced.

 

Gladys Wilma Tarver Parker was 97 years old when she died.  To say that she had led a full life is true in many ways, but not true in other ways.  She had experienced many aspects of life and had seen  the world change tremendously, but because she grew up dirt poor, she had not been exposed to some of the things women of my generation and younger take for granted.  Maybe she never missed them and it's only me wishing she had been able to experience these things that makes me sad.  Mother was a very smart woman.  If she had had the opportunity to go to college, she would have been something to behold! As it was, she dropped out of school in the tenth grade (there were only eleven grades back then) to help her family.  She earned her GED much later in life, passing the test after being out of school for decades.  She realized only later that there had been a book she could have studied to prepare her for the test.

 

She was a caregiver all her life.  The oldest of ten children, she helped on the farm, taking care of her younger siblings and working in the fields.  Then she married and took care of her own family consisting of my dad, three boys and me, the last child.  In her old age, she cared for my father until he died.  I sometimes wonder what she must have thought about when she woke  up in the mornings after Daddy died.  Did she ask herself, "What do I do with myself today?" since all she had known was taking care of other people.  Probably not.  My mother was above all else practical.  I know there was no room in her life for self-pity.  She just did what needed to be done.  And for the most part, she took joy in doing it.

 

It was especially hard for this strong-willed, independent woman to face the reality of old age and move in with me.  She came to that decision on her own, although she did have some gentle prodding from me. When she was 95 years old, she suffered a TIA that was the final evidence my brothers and I needed that she no longer was able to live alone.   We let her arrive at the conclusion herself that the time had come, and, in her practical way, she did.  So, after almost ten years of living alone, in her own house generously provided by my oldest brother and his wife, she walked away from that life of independence and moved to Baton Rouge with me.  Yes, it was hard on her to leave some of her "things" behind, but she also must have known that was the beginning of her new life of dependence.  That recognition that she was no longer the strong one, the anchor, must have scared her tremendously, as well as the unknown of what the last part of her old age would bring. 

 

And it wasn't pretty sometimes.  Mom lived with me for about fifteen months, and the first months of that period were pretty good.  She was still mentally sharp and physically healthy, but she gradually fell prey to that silent, hateful, miserable son-of-a-bitch--dementia.Watching this intelligent, lively, sweet woman sink into fear and confusion nearly gutted me emotionally, and all I could do was stand by and watch as I held her hand.  As one of my friends once said of aging parents, "All we can do is provide them with love and cushion their last years with a safe landing."  I tried harder than I had ever tried at anything in my life to protect her from the ravages of this disease, but my efforts weren't enough.  I finally succumbed to the reality that I could not work two jobs and continue to take care of her at home, even with the most wonderful care-giver in the world that she had with her during the day. If only I had been rich and had the money for 24 hour care, I could have managed, but I didn't and I couldn't.

 

The day we had to put her in the nursing home was the worst day of my life.  It left a hole in my heart that has never healed and probably never will.  She had asked to "go somewhere" other than my home. She had begun to lose her spacial orientation and had become convinced that this was not our home, this was not her room, and subsequently refused to go to bed or to believe me when I tried to explain what was happening.  "I'm NOT crazy" became her mantra.  I see now that this was her worst fear--of losing not only control of her life but of her mind as well.  And, when she finally requested going somewhere else for a while, saying she couldn't stay in this confusing house that she had begun to fear, I took the "easy" way out and agreed to find her a place where she could "get better."  I will always blame myself for being so cowardly.  My friends and family tell me over and over that I was on the brink of exhaustion--emotionally and physically--and that I had done more than anyone could have expected, but it still felt like betrayal.  I suppose it always will.

 

As the days turned into weeks then months in the nursing home (fifteen in all), she gradually sank more and more into the hole of dementia.  My afternoons, evenings, and weekends were spent with her. I was determined that she should experience as little fear as possible during this terrifying time, so either I or her care-giver was with her all the time, except after she went to sleep.  Those months at the nursing home were some of the most character-building moments of my life, in ways that I could never explain.  As Bette Davis said, "Old age ain't for sissies."  Enough said about that time.  It will, however, haunt me until I die.  This was a time I couldn't

really share with anyone.  How do you describe such pain to brothers who are miles away or to friends whose lives go on undisturbed by these events?  Yes, I had a good support system, but I chose to keep much of the pain inside me.  I guess I'm my mother's daughter for sure, just doing what needed to be done in those months. I had once said that the thing I feared most in my life was the death of my mom.  By the time it came, I was grateful for it.  She--and I frankly I--had been released from an unspeakable horror.  And I know that her slow, lingering demise was easy compared to that of some people.  She didn't suffer; she wasn't in pain.  She just...disappeared in front of my eyes.  For all accounts and purposes, I had lost my mother months before she died, so her passing was not traumatic.

 

Less than a month after Mom died, we closed on this property we call Ridgehaven.  This symbolized for me the ending of one chapter of my life and the beginning of another.  Here at Ridgehaven, I think of Mom often.  When I feed the birds and rejoice in the delight they bring me, when I see the flowers bloom, when I realize how far I've come from a share croppers shack in Richland Parish, Louisiana, when I look around and see some of her precious "things" in my house, I think of my mom.  And I am grateful to God for giving her to me.  She has been my inspiration, my lodestone, my beacon of light.  And I know she smiles down on me from above.

 

Thank you, Mama, for teaching me what love is all about.  I love you, and I miss you terribly.

 

 

I FEEL PRETTY, OH SO PRETTY!!

LOOKING FOR FUN AND FEELING GROOVY!!THIS IS    WHAT WE DO FOR FUN AT RIDGEHAVEN!!

Well, we celebrated the New Year and are procrastinating taking down our Christmas decorations, and I can't get interested in reading today, so I thought I'd catch you up--briefly--on what the past few days have been like.

Katy Parker, fellow retiree, I'm thinking of you.  I'm still in my PJs at 3:30, and although I HAVE showered in the past two days, I have NOT styled my hair.  I'm looking good, let me tell you!!  So, to keep from having to see my wild, unstyled hair, this is my solution.  You can see that the new and improved look is definitely better than before, right?  You CAN see that, right?

My other form of entertainment has been taking shots at squirrels at my birdfeeder with my new Daisy Red Rider BB gun.  (I haven't shot my eye out either). I don't want to hurt the squirrels (yet), but they are piggies and  don't know when to stop eating.  As a result, my birdies are sitting around patiently (and hungrily) on the nearby tree limbs, hoping desperately that the piggy squirrels will stop chowing down on all the sunflower seeds.  Now I DID put out some ears of corn up AND some sunflower seeds of their own for the squirrels to eat, but their  little squirrel brains have generations of programming telling them that THIS feeder at THIS site is FREE FOOD for the taking.  They can be trained evidently, however, since they are getting good at discovering me as I creep out the door and position myself to shoot their little squirrel behinds.  (Don't worry, squirrel lovers, I'm not that good a  shot and generally just scare them away.)

Here I am today in one of my strategic positions. Note the hunter stance.  Note the lack of a coonskin cap and thus a reliable substitute.  Note the lime green t-shirt and the plaid PJs.  Note the pink socks.  Am I a vision of loveliness or what????

I have been practicing with a soup can set up about thirty yards away, and I'm getting better and better, so look out squirrels!! My brother Glenn would be proud of me, since he taught me to shoot a BB gun low these MANY decades ago.  ( I also have incriminating evidence of Carol shooting at the can too, but since she is the primary cook at this residence, I refrain from including it here.)

So...as my teacher friends post on FB about how horrible the in-service meeting was today, these are THE FURTHER ADVENTURES OF DONNA PARKER!!!   

ALL THE LEAVES ARE BROWN AND THE SKY IS GRAY...

Mellow Today...

I know it's been a long time since I've written in this blog, but I vow to do better.  There has been a lot going on these past two months or so, but then again there are days when I wonder about posting because nothing "significant" is happening.  Oh well...this is for me anyway, so what do I care?

Like the rest of America, I am deeply saddened by the events which occurred yesterday in Newtown, CT.  I cannot imagine how the parents of those twenty children must feel, or the families of those six teachers and staff members, or even the brother and father of the disturbed young man.  Another American tragedy.  How many more?

Something told the wild geese
It was time to go
Though the fields lay golden
Something whispered 'snow'

I guess I'll work backwards in time to try to catch up on the events in my life since the last blog entry.  I am currently listening to Gordon Lightfoot (Gord's Gold), which is one of my all-time favorite albums, especially in the fall and winter, or when I'm in the mountains.  I am still in my pajamas and slippers and it's almost four o'clock in the afternoon.  I have not aspired to "accomplish" anything today (save doing a couple of loads of laundry and running the dishwasher).  My only goal for the day is to read some more in my Margaret Maron novel (she's good if you haven't read her and like mysteries, especially the Deborah Knott character series), but I keep getting distracted by Pandora, CNN and even the newest Blue Ridge magazine.  Have I mentioned lately how much I have LOVED these past six months of retirement?

Carol and I got the house decorated for Christmas on December 1st, I think, which is without a doubt the all time record for me to get decorations up.  Since I didn't have to struggle with balancing time among two jobs, grading papers, final exams, AND Christmas shopping.  I have never been a major fan of Christmas because of the stress, but this year I'm really enjoying the festive decorations.  We even put lights on our outside mini Christmas tree.  The funniest part is that Carol (always inventive) used inverted tomato cages to make trees, and they look great!  Here are a couple of pictures of our living room.  We have more decorations in the den but I didn't make

            any pictures of those for some reason.

            

We've tried to get into the spirit of the season by attending some of the local Christmas events here in the Waynesville area.  One of them was a Christmas madrigal dinner at the nearby college, Western Carolina State University.  It was a nice event, and we enjoyed meeting some of the music professors.  Carol in particular felt right at home, and it made her miss the LSU SOM productions.  Western does a good job with their music program, even on a much much smaller scale than LSU.  We also attended their annual music program, which featured their voice students, their bands (what is  the right term if they don't have strings?), their jazz band (which the BRHS jazz band puts to shame!!), some of their faculty brass and voice professors, and a local children's choir.  It was much less high-brow than the LSU annual concert (more accessible to non-music majors such as myself), but definitely enjoyable.  We hope to make this an annual event.  Last Saturday we attended a Christmas concert at Lake Junaluska (did I spell it right?), which is the big Methodist assembly here.  We met our neighbors Mike and Sue there and enjoyed the production, again featuring a quality children's choir as well as the Lake Junaluska singers, who are college students hired to sing at their church services in the summer and for special concerts.  A very, very talented group of young people.  We will probably make this an annual event too.  So...Donna has been in the Christmas spirit more than I can remember in years and years.  Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, everyone!!

  

On November 30, I closed on my house in Baton Rouge, so I am not to only half a mortgage payment.  Yay!!!  I am glad to have that behind me.  Here's a picture of me celebrating with a great bottle of champagne (from Sujata, a wonderful former student and current friend who had given it to me for my retirement).  Thanks, Suj!!

Ok...Thanksgiving was wonderful this year!! I had my brother Sam and his wife Dot who live in Natchitoches and their family, which includes my nephew Greg, his lovely wife Ashley and their great daughters, Olivia and Jane Ashley.  Also my niece Laurie and her husband John, and their two sons, Jack and Sam came over from Nashville.  Last but not least was my niece Katie, who "belongs" to my brother Glenn in Austin but who is currently a student at SCAD in Savannah.  Carol had spent a lot of time preparing some food in advance, and we all pitched in to help prepare the meals.  I think (hope) everyone had plenty of time for sleeping, reading, relaxing, and (most importantly) visiting.  I was recovering from a cold and Carol subsequently caught it, but as the saying goes, "a good time was had by all."

Jack, Laurie, John and Sam

Katie

Greg

Sam

Jane Ashley, Ashley, Greg and Olivia

Jane Ashley and Carol




Sam and Dot with the girls



Carol and I with the girls



Katie taking her turn on the trumpet



the whole bunch of us!!





Someday I'm going to learn how to correctly position these pictures, or to do a slideshow, but for now I'm tired of trying.  Sorry, follks!!

The first week in November found us in Baton Rouge, attending the LSU-Alabama game with Tiger Band. That was fun, as was visiting with KOGS and other friends, seeing the NEW BRMHS for the first time, and visiting with Greg's family.  Our thanks to Jo Paula and Bob for their wonderful hospitality.  They better be careful dropping phrases such as, "You're always welcome!"  The day after we came home, my dear friend Ann St. Clair, whom I've been friends with since 7th grade, came to visit for a few days.  We thoroughly enjoyed mostly just visiting, playing mahjongg, and enjoying food and adult beverages.  Next time you come, Annie, maybe Kirk can make it.  Annie was generous and gave us a housewarming gift of a stone sign with our address on it, which we can't wait to get installed as soon as it's ready.  Pictures will follow.

For my birthday this year we went to Cataloochie, which has to be one of my favorite places up here.  We camped in the campground and it was glorious.  There are no hook ups, so we had to learn to dry camp, which means essentially saving our battery power.  We had a propane heater, lots of water (plus bathrooms in the campground helped), and pretty mild temperatures for October 22-24.  We enjoyed it so much that we hope to make it an annual birthday gift to me. 

We have had an unusually warm December (and November for that matter) with temps frequently in the upper 50s during the day and with only a few hard freezes.  We've worked outside a good bit (Carol more than me) picking up the downed trees from when we had some of the thicket cut, clearing out brush, burning and burning and clearing some more.  We hope to continue this property beautification project into the winter and early spring with planting flowers and shrubs on the steepest part of the slope and also adding some pink dogwoods along the drive.  Always something...but it's great fun!!  I've also tried my hand at winterizing Dora (my travel trailer) and I sure hope it works since I don't want frozen pipes!! I'm about ready for some snow, but it doesn't look like there is any coming anytime soon!!  These are picture of the house from a couple of years ago though.  Doesn't that look like a wonderland?? 



I guess that about wraps it up.  I'm tired from fooling (unsuccessfully) with these photos, but I wanted to include them.

I hope you guys who waded through all of this entry enjoyed at least some of it.  Such are The Further Adventures of Donna Parker...for now.

RETIREMENT IS DEFINITELY NOT OVER-RATED!!

HELLO THERE,  IT'S BEEN A WHILE...NOT MUCH HOW ABOUT YOU?

It's been a while since I've written a blog entry, so I guess I better catch up a bit before it gets too overwhelming.  You know how you SWEAR you're gonna keep a journal, then you don't because you get behind?  That's the way it's been with this blog.  So here is a capsule summary of what I've been doing lately.

I'll start with this past weekend and work backwards.  Makes as much sense as anything else, right?

                 INTERNATIONAL STORYTELLING FESTIVAL

Carol had heard about the International Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, TN since before we moved.  One of the LSU music professors and a friend of hers had insisted that when we moved we should go to this once a year festival.  It's in its 40th year, and since it sounded interesting to us, we decided to go.

We took Dora the Explorer, my 17 foot Casita travel trailer, and headed to Jonesborough on Saturday morning.  We had reservations at a riverside campground and had purchased tickets online for the Saturday night session and the Sunday session.  We had recently been through Jonesborough on our way to DC with our friends Jo Paula and Bob, where we had stopped at Tennessee Quilts, one of the area's best quilt shops, according to JP. We knew we liked the looks of Jonesborough and were excited to get back there.  It has a great little downtown shopping area, with some specialty shops such as the chocolate shop Carol fell in love with.  Of course, the weather did NOT cooperate, and it was rainy and cold most of the time we were there.  Big tents had been set up for the various sessions, so we were dry at least.  We did have enough foresight to dress warmly, so it really wasn't bad.

This event was one of the most unusual I have ever attended.   The audience seemed to consist of a lot of regulars who return each year.  There seems to be a ... (it's hard to describe) cultural connection among this group.  After all, how many people in today's society enjoy hearing people tell stories?  No gimmicks, no flashy  stages, just good old fashioned, spoken word entertainment.

We heard stories from people who "specialized" in Appalachian culture, such as the young woman who told about miners in a cave-in.  We heard a variation of the myth "Baucus and Philemon"; we heard a Cuban-American tell wonderful tales of her childhood as an immigrant; we heard hilarious stories that could be described as stand-up comedy with a personal twist.  We heard protest songs and African American poems.  There were others, of course, but this was the kind of stories  we enjoyed in our short time there.  I guess, as one speaker said, many of the audience members were librarians and English teachers, but there were lots of other folks too.  Older people mostly, of course, but some younger ones as well.  It is hard for me to describe just how good these tellers were.  And I was amazed to see that there is a community of tellers who travel to international festivals and are well known to their audiences.  If you have any kind of appreciation for people who can move you to tears or make you laugh until you cry, then you might consider this festival.  It's kind of expensive, but we found the money to be well spent.

And the scenery between here and there is gorgeous, especially with the fall colors.

               OUR TRIP TO THE OUTER BANKS OF NC

 A few weeks ago, we went with our friends and neighbors Mike and Sue to the Outer Banks.  Although they've lived in NC for years and own a beach home in the southern part of the state, they had never been up to the northern end of the OBX.  Carol and I were very excited to share this adventure with them.  Mike and Sue have a large trailer they just acquired, so we caravanned (sp?) with them.  The weather AGAIN was pretty lousy the first few days.  It rained over four inches at Ridgehaven during that time, but we managed to avoid most of the worst weather.

We saw the most  northern part of the Outer Banks, including Nag's Head, Kitty Hawk and the Wright Brothers Memorial, Cape Hattaris and a total of four lighthouses, Ocracoke, Roanoke and the Lost Colony site (not necessarily in that order).  We took two ferries, saw a few beaches (although not enough in my estimation), stayed in a couple of pretty bad campgrounds (not a lot of choice), and ended up in a great national forest campground for two nights. We did enjoy the town of New Bern, and I had my first shrimp and grits there.  My gosh, that's an amazing dish.  How have I not eaten  that before?  I'm not really a beach person, and I would have enjoyed a little more time ON an actual beach instead of just experiencing the ocean "breeze" and humidity.  My hair looked a lot like Bozo the Clown's on this trip, but I enjoyed the whole experience.  I don't think I need to go back to the Outer Banks, but I was glad to see a large part of my new state that I had never seen before.

                      VISITORS COMING TO RIDGEHAVEN!!

I'm being totally lazy today (stll in my pjs at 1:45), but I will need to get it in gear soon since we have guests arriving on Thursday.  Two of Carol's friends from her stint at the EBR Library are coming for the weekend.  I'm a little bit shy around strangers, but she likes these ladies a lot and I'm sure they're quite nice.  I have housecleaning to do and a bit of tidying up, and I have the lawn to mow.  I HOPE I only have to mow maybe two more times this season, but then there will be leaf clean up.  While they're here,  I suspect I will do some leaf peeping of my own in the surrounding area.  Now that the weather has cleared up and the sun is shining, it will be perfect weather for looking.  We went out on the Parkway last week and watched a glorious sunset, and the colors were already changing up that high.   I need to monitor that, I think, just in case the foliage needs my help!

I'm having much of my family here for Thanksgiving.  Laurie, my niece, and her family are coming, along with her parents, and we're still hoping to hear that my nephew Greg and his family can come as well.  It will be fun having them all here, and we think the house is in pretty good shape for viewing. 

A few days before my birthday later this month, we're going to take Dora to Cataloochee and camp for two nights.  That's where the elk herd is, and there are lots of hiking trails as well.  We're taking the bikes since there is a long road through there, so it should be fun.  I suspect the way the fall foliage is going around here that we might be past peak, but I bet it's still pretty.  We have never dry camped in Dora so I'm trying to get ready for that with a new battery, some LED lights, and learning how to save power.

All in all, it's been a good month.  By the way, I think the hummingbirds have gone.  I saw a lone one yesterday in the rain and felt sorry for him, but I'm keeping my feeders up for the stragglers.  I'll miss you little guys!!

Here are some pictures of our recent outing to Waterrock Knob for sunset.  Pretty darned nice.

 

THE FALLING LEAVES DRIFT PAST MY WINDOW

                             GLORY IN THE HIGHEST

It's getting to be fall-ish around here, and I couldn't be happier!  (Well, that's not entirely true since I hate to see summer coming to an end.  It's been lovely.)  However, I am totally, completely, absolutely enamored of fall and cannot WAIT to spend the next six weeks watching it slowly make its way into the mountains.

The weather is the best indicator, of course.  We've had days in the lower to mid 70s, and the next few nights will be in the upper 40s.  The sky is the kind of blue that you only see in fall--deep blue and crystal clear.  I recall those days in Baton Rouge when we'd all  wake up to a day like this and know that we had made it through yet another summer.  (Yes, it might get warm again, but we knew that there was HOPE.) 

I am eager to watch the leaves change color this year.  Since we'll be here on a daily basis, we can see the slow changes as they occur and not just see the "done deal", so to speak.  I've not yet figured out what the correlation is between "good" fall foliage and rain or temperatures, but I'm hoping for a magnificent show of color.  The past two years, we have been blessed to be able to come the week of my birthday (3rd week in October), and that is usually the peak week.  I have to remember this year that the glorious foliage on the Parkway will be earlier in October since the elevation is higher, and I don't want to miss that.

Of course, there is that reality check that tells me that autumn leaves mean they fall OFF the trees and ON the grass.  Good thing we're retired and have lots of time on our hands!!  We'll have to see how well this mower mulches!

We have our own trees that we're eager to see how brilliant they'll be in the fall.  With the generous contribution of our KOGS lady friends in Baton Rouge after the death of Carol's mom, we bought some trees and planted them on the property last year.  They are both red maples, but of two different varieties with names like October Blaze and Autumn Glory.  Who couldn't love that, just for the names alone?  The trees did well over the winter, with the help of our friend and neighbor Rebecca who helped us water them, and they have grown a lot.  We named the trees Lois (Carol's mom) and Gladys (my mom).  Lois is planted up here in the front yard and Gladys is down below along the driveway.  We also bought engraved plaques honoring our mothers and put them on the trees.  These trees are very special to us, and if they live up to the pictures we saw when we bought them, they should be stunning inspirations.  Just like our moms.



Lois Weathersby



Gladys Parker





Geaux Tigers!

Another indication that fall is here is FOOTBALL!!!  I love football, both college and pro, and of course Carol loves LSU!!  We watched the first game of the season Saturday night and wished we could have been in Tiger Stadium.  We will be soon, though, as we travel to BR once again to see the Alabama-LSU game.  Currently Alabama is ranked #1 and LSU #3, so we'll see how that plays out.  I don't even wanna TALK about how steamed I STILL am at Les Miles and his doofus quarterback decisions when these two teams met last year for the championship game.  I also watched the Saints game online yesterday since we are sadly NOT in the viewing area to see the weekly Saints game, and it was not a good beginning for Drew and the boys.  That RG3 really cleaned our clocks!  On a good note, my boy Peyton Manning showed he's still got it when he led the Broncos to victory last night.   Shame on you, Colts, for letting him go.



Autumn Joy Sedum



We've also been busy in the kitchen.  A few weeks ago we picked apples with our neighbor and friend Sue, but Carol was gone for a week so we just got around to doing anything with them.  I cored, she cut, and then voila, there was applesauce.  (I think there was a little more to it than that...)  We have about seven quart bags of applesauce to put in the freezer, and we still have about the same number of apples waiting for us in the refrigerator.  I also had prepared a slow cooker dinner of pork chops, apples, and sweet potatoes, so the kitchen provided good autumn smells all day.



Cataloochee

We hope to go hiking one day this week at Cataloochee and also to stay and hear the elk.  Call me weird, but I just LOVE the sound of bugling elk.  I guess it reminds me of my visits to my friend Annie's cabin in New Mexico and all the wonderful memories of that place.  Recently elk were re-introduced to the Great Smoky Mountain National Park, and the elk at Cataloochee are doing well.  We want to drive out there, do some hiking, and hear some elk bugling.  Here's a picture of one of the buildings at Cataloochee in the fall, so it might be worthwhile going back out there in a few weeks.  Heck...too many beautiful places, not enough time!!  Oh yeah, we DO have time...whew.       

Finally, the hummers are stoking up energy for their journey south.  I have noticed that we seem to have an additional visitor, but it's hard to tell since our General Ruby seems to chase them off.  I put one of the feeders in the back so that maybe they could share, but oh no, that's not gonna happen.  (These guys need a good kindergarten teacher to teach them that rule.)  But we've usually had three and now I think there are four, so we are going to keep them well fed until it's time for them to head south.  I don't know if we'll get others migrating through, but I want to have food for them if they do.

So...I am thrilled that autumn is here.  I just revel in it.  I told Carol yesterday that I might not be sitting in a church pew, but I was definitely giving all the glory to God the Creator for making such a beautiful day in such a beautiful place and for blessing us to be able to enjoy it all.  Amen!!!



Lake Logan